community
the all-inclusive exhibition showcase, Evans said, “The works featured in QUEER represent a wide swath of artists from Glendale, Los Angeles and even beyond…as well as residents of ACE/121. The curation team itself is made up of both residents and non-residents as well. The artist who conceived of the show, Grey James, lives at ACE/121 and invited Gary Freeman and Nick Macierz to join him in curating the artworks included in the show.” Evans discussed the kind of works he looked for.
WHAT MAKES YOU QUEER?
by korie houston Creating narrative through art is a way that the LGBTQ community
has expressed itself for generations. In that tradition, the ACE/121 gallery, in direct partnership with Abril Bookstore & Roslin Art Gallery, has gathered artists to create narratives in navigating the undefined relationship to queer identities.
QUEER is a multi venue, multi
cultural, all inclusive event at Glendale’s ACE/121’s gallery around the cultural references of the word itself. “A word becomes a slur becomes a culture. For some, Queer remains too painful to embrace. For others, it’s a culture that extends beyond the LGBT community, allowing for broader inclusiveness. In LGBT-normative, century 21, what is Queer anymore?“ Cosponsors of the event, Roslin Art
Gallery & Abril Bookstore focus is more on queerness in the Armenian LGBTQ+ community, but had this to say about the collaboration. “Experiences of queerness and ‘otherness’ have been shared by the Armenian and LGBTQ community—both have been targeted and oppressed throughout history in different contexts. In a diverse city such as Los Angeles, the experience
of being queer or other is constantly evolving. This was a call to all artists of Armenian backgrounds, whether or not you identify as LGBTQIA+, to submit artwork that expresses your experience of queerness or otherness.“ The Rage Monthly spoke with Ben
Evans, the program director of ACE/121 about the exhibition. Evans was asked if this was the first
LGBTQ+ art show that the gallery will showcase. To which he remarked, “It is the first LGBTQ+ exhibition that has been exhibited at ACE/121. Not only that, in conjunction with Abril Bookstore and Roslin Art Gallery (whose exhibition will focus specifically on Armenian LGBTQ+ artists and artworks), it will mark the first-ever queer-themed art exhibition in Glendale.” When asked about how they
discovered the variety of artists to create
THE OPEN CALL FOR WORK WAS A SIMPLE ONE, TO SUBMIT ONE PIECE, ONE PARAGRAPH ABOUT: WHAT MAKES YOU QUEER?”
“The open call for work was a simple one, to submit one piece or one paragraph about: What makes you QUEER?” With such a powerful and thought- provoking question, we wanted to know more about the submissions and the process of choosing the artwork. Evans delved a little deeper and told us, “There was of course a myriad of responses, some of which were only a paragraph, for example. The exhibition itself will include the texts submitted responding to the prompt: What makes you queer? In this way, not only will the show reflect numerous visual responses, it will also contain numerous voices. It was important that the show respond specifically to the term “queer,” and it will, though not all the submissions will be from individuals who identify with any of the LGBT acronyms; however, the Q is decidedly represented.” The importance of representation in all forms
of media is a never-ending struggle. The final question to Evans was about the importance of showcasing work that illustrates the distinctions between society’s reclamation or rejection of the word Queer. He left us with this sentiment, “Without taking a stand on the term itself, the individuals who are putting this show together here at ACE/121, recognize the very dichotomy within the debate of ‘queer.’ We hope that the work reflects this term in all its understandings and meanings.” Evens paused to notate, “We cannot speak for the exhibition at the Abril Bookstore/Roslin Art Gallery, though their show is running in conjunction with ours and we see it as a collaborative endeavor.” No matter what you may feel about the history
of the word, it’s important to recognize the power of reclaiming a slur. The QUEER art show seeks to showcase the many differences between the past the word carries to the future and what the word can still hold. To create your own narrative, it all starts with the question, “What makes you queer?”
QUEER’s opening reception takes place Friday, June 8, and the show continues through Sunday, July 1. For more information, go to
facebook.com/ACE121-Gallery-1394893387239746.
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RAGE monthly | JUNE 2018
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